


There was Probably a Better Solution

by girlsinthestars



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, kinda a tiny bit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-10-18 17:11:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17584937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlsinthestars/pseuds/girlsinthestars
Summary: Garak kisses Julian to hide them from a passerby on a mission, and back on the station Julian realises it meant something, and he actually maybe really likes Garak.





	There was Probably a Better Solution

It was ridiculous, this whole plan was insane and for the third time that night Julian wondered how Garak convinced Sisko to let them go. They were on a cardassian planet, in cardassian space, searching for some kind of new weapon Sisko had sworn Garak to secrecy about, based on a hunch Garak had that it was here. He didn’t even know why Garak had picked him for the mission. That being said, sneaking into a cardassian settlement that was potentially hiding some top secret military base was everything Julian had been dreaming about ever since he befriended the cardassian spy- sorry, plain, simple, Garak.

Julian would have stuck out like a sore thumb as they walked through the settlement if it weren’t for the empty streets owing to the fact that it was midnight. They hadn’t bothered with cosmetics to blend in because it was supposed to be a quick mission, transported down well after sunset, four hours to search the colony, then they would be picked up from the rendezvous point. 

“We’re turning right up ahead, I’m getting some strange readings from just outside the city.” Julian said, altering the tricorder’s settings slightly. “I can’t get any indication on what it is exactly.”

“That does sound like-” Garak cut himself off, pushing Julian back against a wall.

“Who’s there?” A voice called from a little ways ahead.

“I’m sorry about this.” Garak hissed, then he pressed his lips to Julian’s and slipped a thigh between his legs.

Julian barely had time to gasp as Garak’s mouth opened against his own. It was like a dream come true, in fact Julian had almost certainly fantasised about this scenario at some point. Garak’s hands tugged his body closer, before pressing him harder against the wall, Julian pressed closer easily, his hands finding their way into Garak’s hair and tugging slightly, revelling in the gasp Garak let out against his mouth. And if, just for a second, Julian forgot they were doing this to hide, well, Garak didn’t have to know. 

“I apologise, Doctor,” Garak said, smoothing his hair and adjusting his clothes, as footsteps faded into the distance behind them, the person having walked past and left them to their business, “There was probably a better solution to that situation, however, that was the best I could come up with in the time given.”

“No, no, its-” Julian coughed, and attempted to make his voice slightly less breathy. “I didn’t mind- I mean, that is to say, it was a perfectly reasonable solution.”

“Thank you, shall we?”

The rest of the mission went as planned, they located the base and Garak took detailed readings of the new weapon, muttering under his breath about how it was exactly as he suspected, then they were collected before the sun rose.

It had been weeks, but Julian couldn’t get the kiss out of his mind. There were thousands of other ways they could have avoided detection, they could have hidden in the alley they had passed, they could have just stood pressed together against the wall, it was dark enough that the person probably would have assumed they were making out. It just didn’t make sense, Garak was an ex-spy, making out with your associate to hide while on a mission wasn’t a professional tactic, it only really happened in Julian’s spy holo-programs. Maybe it was just wishful thinking. Julian desperately wanted the kiss to have meant something to Garak, it didn’t even have to mean the same thing it did to him, as long as it was more than just a necessity. 

He tried to force himself to forget about it, Garak clearly had, sitting across from him at their sixth lunch since the mission, talking about some cardassian book he was sure Julian would love. But Julian couldn’t get himself to focus on what Garak was saying. His mind replaying the kiss over and over again, imagining Garak turning up at his quarters in the middle of the night saying he couldn’t stop thinking about him and-

“Doctor?” Garak asked, Julian glanced up, Garak was clearly waiting for an answer to a question Julian hadn’t heard.

“I’m sorry, Garak, I must admit I haven’t been listening.”

“Is everything alright? You’ve seemed distracted the past few weeks.”

“Yes, yes of course, I’m just busy.” Garak looked doubtful. “Speaking of, I really must be going, thank you for lunch, same time next week?”

He barely gave Garak a chance to reply, jumping up and making his way to the infirmary. He really had to do something about this situation, Garak was noticing his odd behaviour and there was no way he could keep using the busy excuse. Maybe he just needed some space, give himself some time to get over this infatuation before it ruined their friendship.

So the next week he dropped into Garak’s shop to tell him he wouldn’t be able to make their lunches this week, making up something about a big report being due, and while Garak seemed suspicious and even a little disappointed, he didn’t ask any extra questions.

He did, however, ask questions when Julian cancelled their next six lunches, excuses varying from ‘I have a patient I have to deal with’ at the time to ‘I have a staff meeting’ the day before.

“I’m beginning to think you’re avoiding me.” He said, when Julian finally ran out of excuses.

“No, I- I’ve just been busy, I told you.”

“You can’t lie to a liar.”

Julian sighed. “It’s silly.”

“Then it shouldn’t matter to tell me.”

“You’ll laugh.”

“Try me.”

“It’s going to change how you think of me.”

“Really, my dear, you are being awfully cryptic, I don’t like competition.”

“Okay, here’s the thing…” Julian lowered his voice, looking around them. “I can’t stop thinking about the kiss.” 

“What kiss?” Garak leaned in and lowered his voice dramatically, Julian could tell he was taking the piss.

“ _The_ _Kiss,_ between you and me.”

“On the mission?” Garak leaned back again, brows furrowing. “I didn’t know you were so uncomfortable with it.” 

“Well, that’s the thing… I’m not uncomfortable with it.”

The corners of Garak’s mouth twitched up. “I see.”

Julian stared at him, waiting for him to say something else, but he didn’t say anything, just watched Julian with that tiny smug smirk.

“Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Well… what are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking this food is rather dry, you must talk to Chief O’Brien about these replicators.”

“Garak! You know what I mean.”

Garak sighed and put down his fork. “I am not a relationship person.”

Julian’s heart sank, Garak was rejecting him, their friendship would become awkward, they would both start making excuses to get out of coming to lunches and soon enough it would be as if they had never been friends.

But then Garak continued. “That is to say, I am not good at them, I lie just as much, I do not turn into a warm, loving person.”

“I wouldn’t want you to.” Julian said quickly, his eyes lighting up again.

“You must understand what you are getting into.”

“I do, come on Garak, who on this station knows you better than me?”

“That may be true, my dear, but surely you know even you barely know me.”

“I do. Come on Garak, I know you felt it too, there’s something here.”

“Do you use that line often?”

Julian didn’t bother replying, putting on his best pleading eyes.

Garak sighed. “You are incredibly persistent, has anyone ever told you that?”

“Is that a yes?”

“Yes.”

* * *

Months later, they were lying in Julian’s bed, it was late in the morning but Julian was on an ordered rest day (apparently working for 48 hours straight was unacceptable and displayed a level of stress that could only be solved with a break), and Julian was lying on Garak’s shoulder, tracing patterns on his chest. And it was then that he finally got up the courage to ask.

“Did you deliberately kiss me on that mission?”

Garak laughed. “You didn’t really think that was actually the only method of hiding I could think of?"

“I guess not, I was just never sure, you seemed so reluctant when I asked you out.”

Garak sighed, moving so he was face to face with Julian. “That wasn’t because I wasn’t sure, I wanted to make sure you were sure, that you knew what you were getting into.”

“So you liked me before that?” Now that he had gotten started Julian wasn’t stopping now.

“Yes.”

“Since when?”

“Since I laid eyes on you that first day in the replimat.”

Julian grinned. “You old romantic!”

“Says the man who used ‘I know you felt it too’ on me, like we had walked right out of one of your ridiculous holo-programs.”

Not much had really changed, not in the way they talked to each other at least, except now their light arguments ended in making out.

**Author's Note:**

> Look at me, just fuckin churning fics out, hopefully I can maintain this when I go back to school, but lowkey that's whats motivating me, I just wanna get all the fics I started these holidays finished and posted before I go back to school and disappear for 6 months. Anyway hope you enjoyed
> 
> Find me on tumblr @girlsinthestars


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